Cyclone

Six people died and 18 were injured after cyclone Victor struck Honiara City yesterday. More than a hundred people were left homeless after strong winds destroyed at least 20 houses.

Among the six casualties, three men died from drowning when their car was blown off the road into the river by winds moving more than 140 kilometers per hour. Flying debris hit two women and a man who died from the impact.

Emergency personnel are still attending to the victims in hospitals, while awaiting information on injured individuals from other areas outside Honiara.

Several buildings sustained structural damages from the cyclone. Officials already began clearing operations in the affected areas.

Meteorologists at the Nadi Weather Centre detected the cyclone moving quickly towards the Solomon Islands at 2 a.m. yesterday and named it “Victor” after an hour.

Government officials immediately began emergency plans. They warned all shipping companies and sent broadcast warnings to radio stations and police departments.

Early in the morning, the Government put the country under emergency, but 6 people were killed, 18 were sent to the hospital and several houses were destroyed in Honiara, the city that took the brunt of the damage.

It all started at 2 a.m., when the Nadi Weather Centre detected a cyclone developing near Nauru and moving towards the Solomon Islands. An hour later, the meteorologists contacted the Government, which quickly deployed their emergency plans. They warned ships in the area, broadcasted warnings on the radio, and alerted the police.

At 10 a.m. though, the cyclone struck Honiara, Solomon Islands’ capital city, killing 6 people, injuring 18, and leaving 100 people homeless. The emergency services are still on call in nearby districts, but they believe that Honiara was the worst affected district.